Internal-combustion engine



AYE. L. CHORLTON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19. 1911.

1,332,803. Patented 11211221920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- A. E. L. CHOBLTON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE;

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19. 1911.

1,332,803. Patented Mar. 2,1920.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A. E. L. CHORLTON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I9, 1911.

2, 3. Patented Mar. 2,1920;--

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ALAN ERNEST LEQFRIC CHORLTON, OF SWALLOWBECK, LINCOLN, ENGLAND.

IN TERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Application filed June 19, 1917. Serial No. 175,652.

. To'aZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALAN ERNEST LEOFRIC CHoRLToN, a subject of the King of England, residing at Swallowbeck, Lincoln, in England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion fication.

A This invention relates to internal combustion engines having two or more cylinders operating on either the four or six-stroke cycle and more especially those in which the products of combustion are employed for supercharging purposes and has for its obj ect to effect certain improvements and economies as compared wlth methods hitherto proposed.

, It is known that by the addition of cooled products of combustion to the working charge in an engine cylinder toward the end of the suction stroke it is possible to obtain a lower maximum flame temperature and to secure an economy in fuel consumption. thus employing the products of combustion hitherto the practice has been to either allow these exhaust gases to pass into a reservoir in which they are cooled and whence they subsequentlyreturn to the same cyllnder for su'percharging purposes at the end' of the charging stroke, or they have been permitted to pass from one side of the piston to the other in a double-actin two cycle engine traversing a cooling device on the way and entering the cylinder during the compression stroke.

- According to this invention the gases in one cylinder when under the pressure resulting from the combustion of a charge in that cylinder are employed to drive into another cylinder a cooled inert gas such as products of combustion. This gas may either have been suitably accumulated for the purpose or a portion of the products of combustion from the first cylinder after being cooled may be impelled intothe second cylinder by the combustion pressure in the first cylinder. The cooled products of combustion are admitted conveniently through ports formed in the length of the wall of the cylinder these ports being so disposed that they are uncovered by the piston toward the end of its stroke ,so that the charge of inert gas will enter at or about the end-of the charging stroke. The products of combustion may also escape through these ports or through valve-controlled ports in the heads of the cylinders into the cooling device.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example various ways in which the invention may be put into practice. In these drawings, Engines of which the following IS a spec1- Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a nine cylinder radial engine showing one method of applying the invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is a similar View of an engine of a similar type showing another method of applying the invention thereto.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a pair ,of cylinders arranged with their axes parallel and showlng the application of the invention to an engine of this type.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation showing the arrangement in thecase of two cylinders of a V-type engine.

Fig. 5 is an elevation showing a modifica tion in the application of the invention to a nine cylinder radial engine. Like letters indicate like out the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1 in which are shown parts throughthree of the cylinders of a nine cylinder radial engine, each of the cylinders A A A has one or more ports B so formed in the length of its wall that theseports will be uncovered by the pistons C C C toward the end of their outstrokes. open into a common annular chamber D mounted in some convenient manner on the cylinders or on the crank case and adapted to be cooled in some suitable way by water or by air as in the example illustrated. The timin is so arranged that as the pistons C and 2 inthe cylinders A and A are performing. their charging strokes the piston C in the cylinder A is performing its working stroke a similar alternation taking place in the other cylinders of the engine. It may be assumed that the engine is of the type in which the cylinders rotate in the direction of the arrow about the crank shaft. The piston C has then completed its charging stroke and the port B is fully uncovered. The piston C is nearing the end of its working stroke and the port B is just beginning to be uncovered. The piston C has performed rather more than half its charging stroke and has not yet begun to uncover the port B in the cylinder A As a result of the entry into the annular chamber D of previous charges of productsof combustion The ports B all it will be apparent that at this time the chamber D is filled With cooled inert gas. When now the port B in the cylinder A is uncovered by the piston C the pressure resulting from the combustion of the charge in that cylinder being communicated to the inert gas in the annular chamber D will drive some of this cooled inert gas under pressure into the cylinder A through the open port B and this cooled charge will serve as a supercharge in the cylinder A. Similarly in the case of the cylinder A when the piston C has reached the end of its stroke and the port B is uncovered a supercharge of cooled products of combustion will be driven into that cylinder by the pressure derived from the combustion of the charge in the next adjacent cylinder. Thus each cylinder will in turn receive a supercharge of cooled inert gas. It is to be noted that in the head of each cylinder there is provided the usual'valve controlled exhaust port P and this'port is opened as soon as the portB 'is covered by the piston on its return stroke.

Turning now to the modification illustrated in Fig. 2 each cylinder is in this case provided with a hollow belt or chamber E into which open the ports B which are formed in the wall of the cylinder. ln place of the. common annular chamber D there is arranged between each pair of cyl inders a suitably cooled receiver 1n the form of a tube D the ends of which are connected to the adjacent cylinder belts. Thus assuming that the pistons in the several cylinders are in the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 1 the pressure resulting from the combustion of the charge in the cylinder A is communicated,'by the escape from thi cylinder of products of combustion into the hollow belt E, to the cooled inert gas with which the receiver D and the hollow belt Eaare filled and acharge of this gas is driven into the cylinder A as a supercharge. The main exhaust valve (not shown in the drawing) which is disposed in the head of each cylinder is opened in .the cylinder A when the ports B in the cylinder A are closed. As there is in effect through communication between the receivers D and all the hollow belts these latter and the receivers act in substantially the same way as the common annular chamber Din the construction shown in Fig. 1.

In the case of an engine having two stationary. cylinders with their axes parallel the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 may be adopted. This arrangement may equally be applied to an en ine having an even number of cylinders which can be coupied in pairs.

7 Each cylinder has ports B which open into an annular chamber E and the two chamhers E and E and connected by a'pipe or' the like constituting a receiver D which is suitably constructed and cooled for example by a water jacketD The pistons in the cylinders are connected to similarly disposed cranks but the timing is so arranged that when the piston in the cylinder A is performing its charging stroke the piston in the cylinder A is performing it working stroke. Thus the products of combustion from the cylinder A can escape into the cooled receiver D and drive thence a charge of cooled inert gas into the cylinder A wherein it serves as a supercharge. Conversely on the next outstrokes of the pistons the products of combustion from the cylin' der A will drive a supercharge of cooled products of combustion into the cylinder A. Each cylinder is provided with the usual valve controlled exhaust port to permit of the escape of the residual products of combustion after the ports B are covered on the return stroke of the piston.

An arrangement such as described with reference to Fig. 3 may be applied to an engine having radial cylinders which revolve about the crank shaft such an engine having two similar sets of cylinders disposed in parallel planes and all the cylindeis operating on a single crank or on cranks similarly set. As illustrative of such an application of the invention Fig. 3 mav be deemed to represent a section through two cylinders of an engine of this type the section being taken through the crank shaft axis. It will then be apparent that one cylinder in one set of cylinders is coupled to one cylinder in the other set so that the products of combustion from a cylinder in one set-will pass into a cooled receiver such as D D and drive a su ercharge of inert gas into the correspon ing cylinder of the other set. It will be understood that in this arrangement the timing is such that when the piston in a cylinder of one set, represented by the cylinder A, is performingits suction stroke the piston in the cylinder of the other set, to which his first cylinder is coupled, represented bv the cylinder A, is performing its working stroke.

An arrangement similar to that illustrated or an even number of cylinders coupled in pairs. The timing issuch that the piston C in the cylinder A is performing its charging stroke when the piston C in the cylinder A is performin its working stroke. The products of com ustion from the two cylinders enter the cooled receiver D D disposed between the cylinders or otherwise as found desirable. The pressure resulting from the combustion of the charge in the cylinder A will then drive into the cylinder A a supercharge of cooled products of combustion and a similar supercharge will be driven into the cylinder A by the pressure resulting from the combustion of the charge in the cylinder A.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. the arrangement is modified to permit of the products of combustion leaving each a port H and the cylinder through a port supercharge enters through one or more ports in the wall of the cylinder which are uncovered by the piston toward'the end of its outstroke. The invention is here again shown as applied to a nine' cylinder engine of the radial revolving type operating on the four stroke cycle. Each cylinder is provided with a hollow annular belt E into which open the ports B. In the head of each cylinder is an exhaust port F opening into a chamber G whence leads the cooled pipe D which constitutes the. receiver. Opposite to the exhaust port F inthe chamber G is ports F and H are respectively controlled by valves J and K so mounted on a common spindle Lthat each of these valves can be separately operated. The

.piston in the cylinder A closed by the valve port H opens into the atmosphere. The order in which the charges are fired in the nine cylinders is here 1,3, 5, 7, 9,2, 4, 6, 8, as in the construction shown in Fig. 1 that is to say the istonsin the cylinders A and A will be per orming their charging strokes while the is performing its working stroke. Assuming that the pistons in the cylinders are in the several positions in which they are shown in Fig. 1, namely the piston in the cylinder A at the end of its chargin stroke, the piston in the cylinder A nearlng the end of its Working stroke and the piston in the cylinder A performing the latter part of its charging stroke, then the following is taking place. The. exhaust valves J in the cylinders A and A are at this time seated also the valves K are seated. As the piston in the cylinder A nears the end of its outstroke the exhaust valve J is lifted and the port H is simultaneously K. The products of combustion from the cylinder A then enter the chamber G and passing into the receiver D drive thence the cooled inert gas with which this receiver is then filled. This cooled gas is thus caused to pass into the annular cham-.

ber E and through the port or ports B into the .cylinder A where the cooled gases constitute a supercharge. When the piston in the cylinder A has'uncovered the ports B in that cylinder some portion of the products of combustion will pass through those ports into the hollow belt E and receiver D between the. cylinder. A and the cylinder A The chamber G of the cylinder A is not at this time open to the atmosphere, since the valve K has not beenlifted the valve J being also closed, so that the products of combustion cannot pass freely through thereceiver and escape. The pistons in the cylinders are in its head while the bustion from the cylinderA ceiver D near where the quently the next instroke of the piston in' the cylinder A will cause the products of combustion which are contained in the receiver and have been there cooled, to be drawn into the pump end of the cylinder where they exert a cooling effect on the cylinder and piston. the piston in the cylinder A, which will be the charging stroke, these products of combustion are once more driven into the receiver where they are again subjected to a cooling effect. These cooled gases are in turn driven into the cylinder A as a supercharge after the ports B have beenuncovered, by the action of the products of comwhen the pis= ton in that cylinder is nearing the end of its working stroke. The receivers D can be cooled not only externally but also by cool fresh air being drawn into them at one stage of each cycle performed by the piston in each cylinder if an automatic non-return valve is disposed in the outer end of each rereceiver opens into the chamber G. If then at the period in the cycle when suction is taking place in the receiver D, owing to the latter being in conne'ction with the pump end of the cylinder, the valve K islifted, air can be drawn past the non-return valve into the receiver D.

This non-return valve will serve to prevent, the escape of products of combustion from the outer end of the receiver D when the valve K is lifted and products of combustion are entering the receiverat the end of the working stroke of the piston in the cylinder with which the inner end of the receiver is in communication. By the above described operation the products of combustion are in each case subjected to a considerable cooling effect before they are driven into the. cylinders as supercharges.

The following indicates the manner in which the invention can be applied to an engine operating on the six-stroke cycle. Assuming a radial cylinder engine operating on this cycle and provided with eight or ten cylinders. These cylinders may be coupled after the manner indicated in Fig. 5 by cooled receivers D disposed between adjacent cylinders. The order of firing in an eight cylinder engine will be 1, 4, 7, 2, 5, 8, 3, 6, 1. This will mean that when the piston in cylinder No. 1 has performed about half of its working stroke the piston in cylinder No. 2 will be performing the early part of its suction stroke, while the piston in cylinder No. 3 will be about to commence its first blind stroke during which air only is drawn into the cylinder. After the completion of the working stroke in cylinder N0.

1 the products of combustion can pass from this cylinder into the receiver between cylinder No. 1 and cylinder No. 2 and drive into cylinder No. 2 cooled products of combustion from the receiver. The piston in cylinder No. 2 having at that time nearly completed its suction stroke no communication between cylinders Nos. 2 and 3 then takes place as the exhaust valve in cylinder No. 2 is naturally seated. hen on the next revolution the piston in cylinder No. '2 has completed its working stroke the piston in cylinder No. 3 will be completing its suction stroke so that cooled products of combustion from the receiver disposed between cylinders Nos. 2 and 3 can be driven into cylin- V der No. 3 by the action of the products of combustion in cylinder No. 2. In a similar manner the products of combustion from each cylinder in succession can be employed to act on the cooled inert gas accumulated in each receiver and drive this gas into the next a.d]acent cylinder. The desired results can be even more advantageously effected in a two cylinder engine as in that case the angle, of advance between each pair of cylinders is less and consequently it becomes possible to force the supercharge into. each cylinder when the piston therein is nearer the end of its suction stroke than is the case in an ei ht cylinder engine.

The a ve comprise general indications of various ways in which the invention may be put into practice but it will be apparent that the details of construction may in each case be arranged to suit requirements in respect of the type of engine to which these im provements are applied and the purpose for which the engine is to be used. It is obvious also that the invention may be employed with advantage in engines of types other than those more particularly referred to above by way of example.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, a receiver closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receiver with an inert gas, means for cooling the receiver and the gas contained therein, means for admitting-products of combustion under pressure from one cylinder to the receiver wherein these products of combustion.

act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and means for establishing communication between thereceiver and the interior of another cylinder so that as a result of the action of the products of combustion on the cooled inert gas a charge of the latter will enter such other cylinder as set forth.

2. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, a plurality of receivers closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receivers with an inert gas, means for cooling the receivers and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products of combustion from each cylinder to a receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and means for establishing communication between each receiver and the interior of a cylinder so that as a result of the action of the products of combustion from one cylinder on the cooled inert gas a charge of the latter will enter another cylinder as set forth.

3. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, an inlet port in each cylinder, an exhaust port in each cylinder, a receiver closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receiver with an inert gas, means for cooling the receiver and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products of combustion under pressure from the exhaust port of one cylinder to the receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and a passage between the receiver and the inlet port of another cylinder so that as a result of the action 0 5 the products of combustion on the cooled inert gas a charge of the latter will enter such other cylinder as set forth.

4. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, an inlet port in each cylinder positioned where it will be uncovered by the piston in that cylinder toward the end of its outstroke, an exhaust port in each cylinder, a receiver closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receiver with an inert gas, means for cooling the receiver and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products of combustion under pressure from the exhaust port of one cylinder to the receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled. and a passage between the receiver and the inlet port of another cylinder so that as a result of the action of the proclucts of combustion on the cooled inert gas a. charge of the latter will enter such other covered by the piston in that cylinder toward the end of its outstroke, a receiver closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receiver with an inert gas, means for cooling the receiver and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products of combustion under: pressure from the exhaust port of one cylinder to the receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and a passage between the receiver and the inlet port of another cylinder so that as a result of the action of the products of combustion on the cooled inert gas a charge of the latter will enter such other cylinder as set forth.

6. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, an inlet port in each cylinder, an exhaust port in each cylinder, a plurality of receivers closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receivers with an inert gas, means for cooling the receivers and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products of combustion under pressure from the exhaust port of each cylinder to a receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and a passage between each receiver and the inlet port of a cylinder so that as the result of the action of the products of combustion from one cylinder on the cooled inert gas in the receiver a charge of this gas will enter another cylinder as set forth.

7. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders, an inlet port in each cylinder positioned where it will be uncovered by the piston in that cylinder toward the end of its outstroke, an exhaust port in each cylinder, a plurality of receivers closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receivers with an inert gas, means for cooling the receivers and the gas contained therein, means for admitting prod- .ucts of combustion under pressure from the exhaust port of each cylinder to a receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and a passage between each receiver and the inlet port of a cylinder so that as a result of the action of the products of combustion from one cylinder on the cooled inert gas in the receiver a charge of this gas will enter another cylinderas set forth.

8. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combinatlon of a plurality of cylinders, an inlet port in each cylinder positioned where it Wlll be uncovered by the piston in that cylinder toward the end of its outstroke, an exhaust port in each cylinder positioned where it will be uncovered by the piston in that cylinder toward the end of its outstroke, a plurality of receivers closed to the atmosphere, means for filling the receivers with an inert gas, means for cooling the receivers and the gas contained therein, means for admitting products ofcombustion under pressure from the exhaust port of each cylinder to a receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas with which the receiver is filled, and a passage between each receiver and the inlet port of a cylinder so that as a result of the action of the products of combustion from one cylinder on the cooled inert gas in the receiver a charge of this gas will enter another cylinder as set forth.

9. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders radially disposed about a common crank shaft, a plurality of receivers each closed to the atmosphere and disposed adjacent to two cylinders, means for cooling the receivers, means for filling each receiver with an inert gas namel-y products of combustion which gas is cooled in the receiver, means for admitting products of combustion under pressure from one of the adjacent cylinders to each receiver wherein these products of combustion act directly on the cooled inert gas in the receiver, and means whereby the cooled inert gas in each receiver other adjacent cylinder as a result of the is permitted to enter the action on this gas of the combustion pressure from the first adjacent cylinder as set forth. 10. In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than thtwostroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders radially disposed about a common crank shaft, ports in each cylinder positioned where they will be uncovered by the piston toward the end of its outstroke, a plurality of receivers each closed to the atmosphere and disposed adacent to two cylinders, means for cooling the receivers, and passages between each receiver and the ports of the two adjacent cylinders so that each receiver can be filled with an inert gas namely products of combustion which is cooled therein and subsequently at the proper periods in the cycles performed by the pistons in these cylinders products of combustion under pressure can pass from one cylinder into the receiver and therein act directly on the cooled inert gas in the receiver and cause a charge of this gas to enter the other cylinder as set forth. 1 In an internal combustion engine operating on a constant volume cycle other than the two-stroke cycle the combination of a plurality of cylinders radially disposed about a common crank shaft, an inlet port in each cylinder, anexhaust port in each cylinder, a plurality of receivers each closed to the atmosphere and disposed adjacent to two cylinders, means .for cooling the receivers, and passages between each receiver and the inlet and exhaust ports of the two adjacent cylinders so that each receiver can be filled with an inert gas namely products of combustion which is cooled therein and eriods in the the pistons in these pressure can pass from one cylinder into the receiver and therein act directly on the 15 cooled inert gas in the receiver and cause a charge of this gas to'enter the other cylinder as set forth. v In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of 20 two subscribing witnesses.

ALAN ERNEST LEOFRIC GHORLTQN.

Witnesses:

R. E. DUNBAR GHILBART, ARCHIBALD J OHN FRENCH. 

